So, whether you are looking for a damaged car for sale in Northern Ireland or a damaged car for sale in Ireland and if you are like me and were always attracted to the price of those damaged repairable cars but because the vehicle categories made no sense to you and put you off, fret no more! The Everything Motoring family have done their homework and we have all 8 categories explained below. But before we go and explain them there are a few things you are probably best knowing about damage repairable’s – here is our advice!
So what does the term “written off” mean exactly? Well, I know when I heard it the first thing that came to mind was a car so badly smashed up that it wasn’t road worthy…how I was wrong! Basically if your vehicle is worth £3,000 and the damage caused to the vehicle is over this, for example £3,500 then the insurance company deem it as a “write off” and pay you the vehicle value of £3,000 therefore saving £500 on repairs.
HPI? What the heck is this? It’s Hire Purchase Insurance of course. Again another thing I always heard but never understood so here is a quick summary to something you can gain long term. It is easy to buy used cars in Northern Ireland or used cars in Ireland, we have all been there, you will look at the engine, kick the tyres and maybe even run it out for a test drive BUT…what about the information you can’t see? Enter HPI. HPI is a vehicle check which lets you see if the vehicle was previously “written off”, if there is a mileage discrepancy, if it is currently recorded as stolen and even if there is finance still owed on it.
Now, let’s get these categories explained! There are 8 categories in total – A, B, C, D, E, F, U and X. And in the world of damaged repairables they aren’t know as category, use the term “CAT” – it sounds like you know what you are talking about!
CAT A: It’s a goner I’m afraid, nothing worth salvaging, parts included – get rid of it ASAP!
CAT B: Similar to CAT A but you can salvage some parts from the vehicle, not road worthy at all.
CAT C: Okay, things are looking a little brighter. This is where the insurance company has decided not to fix the vehicle but it can still be fixed by you and put back on the road if you wanted – vehicle was extensively damaged.
CAT D: Again, similar to CAT C but this time the vehicle was damaged but not extensively.
CAT E: Basically a salvaged vehicle which has been stolen and recovered.
CAT F: Burn baby! This category is for any vehicle damaged by fire that the insurance company has decided not to repair. It also covers theft so if your yoke is stolen your insurance company will slot it in to CAT F and if, somewhere down the line it is repossessed, it is the property of the insurance company.
CAT U: A newcomer to the CAT world. Basically a damaged car that was not been registered on the HPI registrar. You would usually find these cars have nothing to do with insurance companies but are more in relation with rental companies for fleeting for example.
CAT X: Okay so the stolen car has been recovered but the insurance company has already paid out on it so basically there could be nothing wrong with it and very easily fixed!